5 BEST strengthening exercises for arthritic hips

If you are looking to build a stronger hip while improving your hip mobility, decreasing stiffness, and decreasing pain with hip osteoarthritis, this is the video for you. Many people believe that finding relief from osteoarthritis is only possible with surgery. More medications and procedures. There is another option that can be incredibly powerful and that is getting stronger building muscle to help support your

arthritic

hip can be one of the

best

ways to walk longer distances sleep better at night improve your mobility be able to get in and out of the car and more in This video I've put together my five favorite

strengthening

exercises

to help support an

arthritic

hip.

We will start with the easiest exercise and then we will advance in difficulty. Make sure you stay until the end so you can see what you're doing. are working to get started, this first exercise involves a chair and a pillow, it can help relieve pain in the inner thigh or groin, stiffness and tightness, a common symptom of hip osteoarthritis, sit towards the edge of the chair, bend your knees to approximately 90 degrees. ° angle or as close as you can make sure both feet are on the floor I'm going to grab my pillow you'll want it to be a fluffier pillow you don't want it to be a very thin pillow or one that compresses easily or else this exercise can be difficult.

I'm going to fold the pillow in half and place it between my knees. You may have to take your feet in one step, bring them a little closer. You're going to squeeze the pillow to about 50 or 60% effort, hold for 3 to 5 seconds and then relax. This narrow stance comes because while squeezing I want to make sure my knees and ankles are aligned, if my feet are too far apart while squeezing my knees move closer together and my feet. we're out, we don't want that to happen as that can cause some problems by putting pressure on certain aspects of the joint, squeezing the pillow, feeling those inner thigh muscles contract and then relax, the idea here is that we are contracting those muscles and then allowing them. to relax, release that tension, release that stiffness, the goal here is to work up to 10, 10 or 20 repetitions, mastering this exercise and doing it consistently can help with lifting your leg, getting in and out of the car, climbing stairs and even walking .

This in the morning, when you wake up and experience that stiffness or if you've been walking for a while during the day and feel some irritation in that area, this exercise can be great to have in your toolbox for the next exercise you'll do. . I need some space along a wall and a chair for support. We are moving on to work the external hip muscles. The glutes or gluteal muscles. Working these muscles can also help relieve pain or tightness in the front of the hip, a common symptom of hip osteoarthritis that tends to occur due to overworking these muscles and not working the outer hip muscles enough, stand relatively close to a wall, maybe stand where your shoulder touches it and then maybe half a step away where you're going to work your inside leg or leg. that is closest to the wall, bend your heel up slightly and bring your knee to the wall.

From here you will press your knee against the wall and hold it for 3-5 seconds and add about 50-60% effort again. It's not a squeeze. As hard as you can, lower down and repeat, you may need to adjust your foot position depending on what is most comfortable for you. Bring your knee to the wall and press inward. You don't need to press your heel against the wall, just think about making contact. with your knee, don't lift your leg in front of you, try to keep it in line with your other leg, press in now, you should feel a couple of things during this, you will feel the outer hip muscles of the leg you are pressing. against the wall, activate what's also important is that you will feel the outer hip muscles on this other leg contract as well and hold it for those 3 to 5 seconds and then relax.

Our goal is to do 8 to 10 reps on one side and then switch and do the same on the other side. This exercise can also be useful to be able to put on socks and shoes and adopt this figure-four position, whether you are standing or sitting. I have a video that talks more about how to get to that position. help improve mobility which you can go after finishing this video because we have three more

exercises

to do. The next exercise will challenge balance. Working on balance is incredibly important for relieving hip pain because it challenges the muscles that help support the hip. joint, of course, for obvious reasons, it helps prevent falls and prevent other complications in the future before starting this exercise, although I want to make sure you master the basics first; you should be able to stand with one foot slightly forward. the other without losing your balance without having much accessory movement you can widen your stance if you need to this will help make this easier your goal is to be able to stand here for at least 10 to 15 seconds without needing to hold onto something for support you will want to make sure that you can do this on both sides, once you can do that, then we can start adding movement.

This particular balance exercise that I'm about to show you also incorporates the core and adds a little bit. of the upper body and increases the hip muscles a little. You can use a weight or a water bottle. I'll show you both. I'll show you with a bottle of water, a pillow or any type of object you have in your house. We will hold it at both ends, the elbows are bent at an angle of about 90° and close to the sides, turn in one direction, come back to the middle and then turn to the other. I like to call this the line, the boat now notices I'm there. without turning, I keep my chest forward and carry that object on each side adding movement to balance exercises makes them more difficult and helps me relate more to everyday life, generally when you lose your balance you are doing something or you are distracted by something or You are trying to move in a certain direction, then you can use a weight to make this more challenging, do the same but now you just have more resistance, aim for about 20 passes, so I usually count each pass as being in the middle . be 1 2 3 4 up to 20 watch while I do this.

I keep the weight close to me. I won't take it to the side. Keep it close. Keep your chest forward and stay balanced. Once you complete 20, you will switch. the orientation of your feet and doing the same only go up to a weight if you feel confident that you can do this with another object using the weight, of course it can bring other risks in terms of dropping the weight or unbalancing you more in the next passed. The exercise helps work the back of the legs, also known as the hamstrings and glutes or glutes. These muscles are incredibly important for supporting your back or the back of your hip joint.

You can do this exercise with and without weights. I'll show you without weights first so you can master the basics before adding weight. This is called a hip hinge or deadlift stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. My favorite way to teach this is to take your fingers and place them right on your hip bones. They relax your knees, so I always like to shake them a little so they're relaxed and not locked from here. Push your

hips

back. Notice how my chest stays upright. I'm not looking down at the ground. Think about maybe looking 3. to 5T in front of you, then use your glutes to stand nice and tall.

Try a pair here. Actually push your

hips

back. Notice that my back is in a relatively straight line. I'm not bending my shoulders or my spine. Another variation. you like to use is standing in front of a wall, you're basically doing a similar movement, but now you're reaching for that wall that's giving you information, you should be able to complete 10-15 of these without a lot of pain and with ease before. You add weight to this and when you add weight you can no longer push your hips back, so now you will have to get used to bending your hips without that real tactile feedback when you stand up, think about pushing your weight through your heels. activating the back of your legs and glutes to help you stand up once you're comfortable with that we can grab a set of weights.

At first I would vent it a little on the lighter side and then once you are more confident you can increase the weight The weights stay in front of your thighs keeping those weights next to my legs sitting my hips back squeezing my glutes and getting erect. I'll show you from the side, sit your hips back as those weights go down your legs and then get a good squeeze. and high with dumbbells, the reps will depend on how heavy the weights feel, aiming for about 8 to 10 reps can be a good starting point and then you can increase the reps as the weight gets lighter or you can decrease the reps. tailored reps If you weigh more, the idea is simply to make sure it feels good on your joints and doesn't cause pain.

This last exercise is great because it not only works your leg muscles, but it also works your core and upper body. You will need a chair that Ideally you will feel comfortable standing without having to use your arms to get up, so if you need to raise the height of the surface it would be a great modification, this exercise can be done with and without weights. First I will show it to you without weight. prepare as if you were going to stand, slide your heels slightly back under you if you can, knees are about hip-width apart, stand up, but as you rise, press your arms above your head, lower your arms, sit and repeat, what you are concentrating on.

Keeping your chest up so you don't lean forward before standing, stand up and press overhead, you want to be able to easily complete 8-10 of these before adding weight, of course you don't want to experience knee or hip pain. so make sure you feel confident before you start adding more weight, if you want to use dumbbells for this exercise this is how I would set it up, hold the dumbbells at shoulder height so it's important to make sure you can stand up without having to push yourself up and then press on your head. Notice that it is a fluid movement, that is the goal.

Your goal is not to stand up and then press while standing. Start pressing on your head. This helps you develop power. Able to generate strength quickly, a key factor when climbing stairs when walking, especially on slopes, aiming for 8 to 10 reps depending on how heavy the weight is, increase reps if the weight feels lighter, you can Decreasing reps as the weight gets heavier Once the weight gets heavier it's incredibly important to make sure you don't alter the way you do it. A common mistake I see is people leaning forward and moving in an almost segmented standing position.

If you do, the weight is probably too heavy. You should be able to keep your gaze or eyes forward, with your chest up, stand up straight and press those dumbbells overhead. Building that muscle strength can be incredibly important for finding relief from hip arthritis, but make sure you're working toward it by mastering the other four exercises. First of all, to make a real change in your muscle strength, you must be consistent. Starting with these exercises every other day can be a great starting point for most if you are looking for more specific follow-up routines to help you incorporate exercises like this. as well as thousands of other exercises that help you build strength in the right areas, feel more confident, and improve your balance.

Adventures for life. My arthritis training membership is a great next step. You can learn more about this membership by clicking the link on the page. description below you have a lot of potential and I am here to help you unlock it